I just looked. It was six months ago that I made the post saying I was ready to start on bunk beds. Well, then I took a job making some bookshelves, and as most of you know, that was a long and very drawn out project. Well, now I am finally ready to get started.

Last night I went and picked up Christopher Schwartz’s book on workbenches. That is something I still do not have, and I have been planning for quite some time. No need to rush that one, I want to get that one right so I do not have to do it over again. Well, not to get off topic, I noticed in his book that southern yellow pine (SYP) was both stiffer and heavier than poplar. That’s when I got to thinking about using SYP or Fir for all the painted parts on the bed. That is what you see in all of the children’s furniture stores. Well, I went to the blue and orange borgs today and priced out the lumber. I will end up saving $175.00 over using poplar. Not only that, but I will save a lot of time planing and all of that.

The 2×4 I bought for the 2×4 contest project have turned out to be very well behaved. If I get 2×12 material I feel like it will stay stable enough for me to use it for the side rails and the end rails on the bed. I know I will not have the luxury of being able to flatten out the lumber, but from my recent experiences, it is not that big of a deal.

So, tomorrow and the rest of the weekend will be spent cleaning up the shop and finishing up the 2×4 contest entry. Then I will run off to the borg to pick up the lumber I need for the bed project. It will be rough cut and placed in the house for a couple of weeks before going back out to the garage to be made into beds. I feel like the couple of weeks will let me know if the boards will stay straight or not.

So, maybe this project is finally off to a good start. If something happens with the pine, I can always fall back on the poplar, but at $175.00 or better difference, how can I not afford to at least try. I guess we will all know how it goes soon enough.

Good luck with the bench, I need to get started on a real bench as well. One with an end vice and bench dogs. I have been collecting 8/4 Hard Maple as I can afford it. Im allmost there another 10 BFT should do it. Keep us posted and get them pictures up here.

I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of Chris Schwarz’s book. I know I did. I look forward to seeing your bench when it’s finished.

Also, I am definitely looking forward to seeing the bunk beds when they’re completed. I’m kicking around the idea of building my son a new bed down the road, so your trials and tribulations will definitely be a help.